


The First Night of the Rest of Our Lives

by ariannadi



Series: Arian Lavellan [8]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Loss of Virginity, Porn with Feelings, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-27
Updated: 2015-06-27
Packaged: 2018-04-05 22:05:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4196631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariannadi/pseuds/ariannadi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A locked door, a shattered bottle, and a hole in the roof. What could possibly be more romantic?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The First Night of the Rest of Our Lives

**Author's Note:**

> Direct follow-up to "We Will Go Down With This Ship".
> 
> Question? Concern? My tumblr: [here](http://www.martini-september.tumblr.com)

And so, Arian found herself wandering into Cullen’s office that evening, while he happened to still be discussing upcoming movements with some of his soldiers.

Instead of interrupting, she stood quietly against the wall next to the door, examining him at work as he was handed a report, only to read it within five seconds then hand it back to whoever gave it to him. But then, his eyes moved upward to hers though he could sense her very presence, and an instant later he had dismissed every person except her, leaning heavily on the door once he had slammed it closed.

“Long day, I take it?” she said in good humor, but Cullen just groaned as he pushed himself upward once more.

“Perhaps, but I shouldn’t complain,” he replied, rotating to walk back toward his desk. Arian silently followed, wondering what was plaguing him so that required her to be there in his office so late at night. _Aside_ from the argument, of course.

“This war won’t last forever, Arian,” she heard him say aloud suddenly, back turned to her at this point. “When it started, I hadn’t considered much beyond our survival, but…things, they’re different now.”

Somewhere in her gut, Arian swore she could feel something akin to a pound of lead drop to her feet. Of all the things she was expecting him to bring up, _separating_ wasn’t one of them. Just from the way he spoke, it was obvious that he was about to drop a bomb on her, and she wasn’t prepared. _Especially_ after what she had told Dorian previously.

“What do you mean?” she asked, trying to keep her voice steady as she approached him further. He sighed briefly, then turned to face her.

“I find myself wondering what will happen after, w-when this is over.” He reached forward then, and her breath hitched when his thumb ran gingerly along her cheek, stopping to sweep along the line of her jaw. “I won’t want to move on,” he then admitted in a whisper that nearly melted her right then and there. “Not from you.”

Arian simply stared up at him, cheeks burning under the dim candlelight. She watched as his face shifted from adoring to doubtful to concerned in the matter of seconds, before he stuttered out, “B-but I don’t know what you- t-that is, if you, ah…” and somehow nonchalantly ended up back by his desk, feigning his examination of the reports that littered the surface.

The elf, for all too brief a moment, swore her brain had developed into jelly as she watched the ex-templar fiddle around nervously while he awaited her reply. He hadn’t said it outright, but she knew just by his demeanor what he was asking. And the question she could only ask herself was: did  _she_  want the same?

Creators, _yes._

“Cullen,” she said softly, slipping around him to plant herself down on the desk’s surface, “do you need to ask?” Certainly this display was more confident than she’d intended, but she’d managed, wobbling legs and all.

He looked down at her, his eyes honeyed but still unsure in their gaze. “I suppose not,” he murmured, “I want…” then cut himself off.

Going as far as she had now in terms of being alluring, Arian decided to take it a step further, leaning back a bit on the wooden surface to give her body a pre-display. But of course, only a klutz like her would manage to knock over the single bottle on the entire left of the desk and send it crashing to the floor. Both the Commander and Inquisitor gasped as they stared down at the pile of shattered glass for a few seconds, and then Arian returned her eyes to Cullen. She expected him to be angry, to be laughing, anything to humiliate her even more in that moment but-

His gaze had darkened, a smirk had turned up on his lips, and before she knew it, he was shoving everything off his desk – reports and all, and then taking her by the hips and pushing her down onto the surface as he climbed over her.

A sharp gasp, followed by a lingering moan left her mouth as she felt his hips roll into hers, one of his hands reaching for her right breast while the other remained on the other side of her head, holding his weight up. She reached for his face, bringing it down to her as she planted a steamy kiss on his lips, her mouth opening to his when she felt his tongue run along her bottom lip.

“Arian, tell me you want this,” he breathed, his mouth latching onto her neck, teeth grazing the sensitive skin there. She gasped when his hand started to massage her breast through her coat, his thumb somehow pinpointing the location of her nipple and teasing it through the thin material.

“Yes,” she sighed, jaw clenching as he nibbled at her ear, prompting her to hoarsely cry out, “ _yes!_ ”

Slowly his hand slid to the clasps holding her coat together, his nimble fingers popping each button loose as he made a slow trail down her torso. Without her even knowing it, the offending garment had slid loose from her shoulders and managed to find its way to the floor. This left her in nothing but her breastband from the waist up, and instinctively, despite her enthusiasm, her hands quickly folded over her chest.

Cullen pulled back and stared down at her, confused. He watched as she turned her head towards the sliver of a window behind the desk, evading his gaze as she chewed at her lip.

“What’s wrong?” he asked soothingly. Again, Arian bit at her lip, before letting out a sigh and looking up into his eyes.

“I must be– honest, with you,” she stammered, hoping this wouldn’t douse the heat between them. She swallowed, then took a deep breath. “I haven’t given my… erm, virtue, to anyone… yet,” she told him in a tiny voice.

It wasn't like there had never been an opportunity, the elf had just never made that kind of connection with anyone in her clan; choosing instead to spend her days roaming the forests with the other hunters. She had half-expected Cullen to be in the same dilemma, but the moment the day's work went flying off his desk the very suggestion went right with it.

Cullen, surprisingly, just started to chuckle, causing Arian to glare up at him, flustered. He shook his head, and pulled himself off of her as well as the desk, standing to his feet and offering her his hand. She took it and pulled herself up with both a heavy heart and a dying pool of warmth between her legs. She had ruined it, her one chance to be intimate with him.

But once she was on her feet, he pulled her to him and kissed his way down her neck, her eyes fluttering shut at the sensation. “If I am to be your first,” she heard him murmur into her skin, “I at least think we should go somewhere a bit more… appropriate.”

And that was how they ended up in his loft but a few minutes later.

 

* * *

 

As soon as they were within the perimeter of the bed, Arian fell back onto it and pulled Cullen over her, who had removed the various bits of his armor at this point, leaving him in a tunic and breeches. Immediately his lips landed on hers, the lingering kisses he left rendering her a useless heap as his hands trailed up her torso. Slowly she felt his fingers slip her breastband upward, and when it reached her neck he pulled away to lift it over her head. His eyes then fell on her chest, and instantly her face flushed beet-red as she looked away from him yet again.

She felt his hand gently turn her head back toward him though, and he smiled heart-wrenchingly down at her with a faint blush as he whispered, “Stop. _You’re beautiful_ , Arian Rayya.”

Her breath hitched, and her lips parted under the intensity of his gaze. His smile shifted into a smirk as he removed his shirt then, perhaps hoping to levy the situation and make her more comfortable. He watched as her hands hesitantly found their way to the expanse of his chest, running delicately over the pale scars that littered his skin.

For a Ferelden man, he was surprisingly not very… furry, as some of her fellow Dalish had described shemlen to be; the blonde hair of his torso scattered here and there, with a single trail making its way from his mid-section into his trousers. Her fingers brushed those that curled close to his nipples, and she smiled cheekily when she heard him softly gasp.

“Having fun?” he asked throatily, cracking a smirk.

Giggling, her hands moved upward and wound their way around his neck as she pulled his face down to her.

“Just admiring the view,” she whispered into his ear, making him shiver. He pulled back to give her a humored look, his brow quirking.

“You're sure you’ve never done this before?” he asked, and Arian mock-gasped in reply.

“Why, Commander, are you calling me an infidel?” she questioned him in feign-concern. He rolled his eyes as his distinct smirk returned to his lips, then bent forward to brush his lips against hers, before cupping the back of her head to slowly deepen it, leaving her putty in his grasp.

“No,” he laughed into her mouth, “Just that you’re positively _adorable_ in your attempt to be a minx.” And the deep blush blotching her cheeks from his kiss just further proved that. His mouth continued to leave heated kisses on hers, while the hand that had been cupping her head made its way to her breast, massaging the mound languidly. She attempted with all of her well-being to hold back the moan building in her throat, but this was proven futile when his fingers pinched at her nipple.

"H-how," she breathed harshly, trying to remain coherent as he started to lavish her neck again, "How did _you_ learn all of this?"

She heard him chuckle, and both of his hands left her momentarily as they made their way south to start undoing the buckles to her pants.

"There was a period of time before I officially became a templar in which I experimented with my then-anew hormones," he rumbled with a smirk, his voice almost unrecognizable. "I'm just surprised you haven't, honestly. Seeing as..."

Arian bit at her lip, not sure where he was going with this. "Seeing as?" she repeated, lifting her hips up off the mattress to help him pull her pants the rest of the way down. He paused then, and pulled away a bit to gaze down at her completely, a very...  _loving_ , look on his face, and within the liquid amber of his eyes.

"Seeing as how unbelievably amazing you are," he finished in a whisper, leaning down once again to claim her lips.

Just like her trousers, her smalls eventually found their way off her body and somewhere onto the floor, and all the while Cullen was undressing both her and himself, he was mumbling incoherent words into every bit of skin he could kiss, and the elf strained her ears to make the least bit of sense of them.

 _"Do you even understand..."_ she caught, followed by _"the nightmares come less..."_ and then _"my blessed saving grace_."

Arian realized then, with beading tears in her eyes, that he was speaking of _her_ , and how in her own way she had turned him against the very life he was fighting so hard to escape from. With a hiccup, she reached for him, fingers curled in his hair, and planted a tender and passionate kiss on his lips that nearly took her very breath away. Both of them were now naked from head to toe, and she could feel his heat pressing against her thigh, and so many emotions were battling for dominance in her mind in that moment she was positive she would come completely undone right then.

So caught up in her inner dilemma, she didn't notice Cullen looking down at her once they had parted - his gaze both worried and expectant. "Are you alright?" he questioned. She nodded once and gyrated her hips upward, evoking him to sharply groan as he clenched his eyes shut.

"I'm ready," she whispered sincerely, her legs spreading for him. His expression was doubtful - once he had briefly recomposed himself.

"Are you sure? I-I... I don't want to hurt you."

"Cullen," she strained, "It's going to be painful for me, regardless. _Emma lath_ , please, _I want you_." To emphasize her point, her hand slid downward and grasped him, causing him to let out a strangled moan as his head fell into the nook of her shoulder.

And to her relief, he complied.

He moved slowly at first, not even fully sheathed, and still Arian bit at her lip from the odd sting that repeatedly hit her center. It was hard to explain the feeling - the euphoria of him inside of her, the sensation of their bodies moving together, her hips rolling upward to meet his in a rush of gasps and sighs. Even still, she felt complete in a way, and the knowing that she would be the only one forever more to be like this with him just added to her personal satisfaction.

From the way her name fell from his lips like a mantra as he kissed her again and again, she could tell Cullen was experiencing a high all his own. Once or twice he would change his position a bit, but never stopped looking down at her, his entire focus on this new place between them and her reactions to it. The thought made her giddy, but was quickly overshadowed by the continuous bliss that was their joining of flesh.

After some time, Arian felt a building pressure deep in the pit of her core that increased gradually with the speed of Cullen's thrusts. Slowly the heat spread, starting from her toes and hitting every nerve along her spine until it reached her brain, where she nearly blacked out as her climax violently racked through her, leaving her a rung rag beneath Cullen's frame. Stars flooded her vision, and she swore for a moment that she was soaring to nirvana right there on her back.

The man on top of her soon followed, letting out a shaky groan as he spilled himself deep within her. She was grateful that he had retained enough sense to _not_ collapse onto her when he had reached his peak, instead resting his body against hers and holding his weight up on his elbows. Both of them were spent, however, nothing but deep breaths making their way into the heated space of his loft, and a settling realization of the final step they had finally managed to take.

 

* * *

 

They lay entwined as the cool air from the gaping hole in the roof above them pricked at the burning skin of their bodies. Arian, still trying to catch her breath, felt something drying against her inner thigh and looked down to find a smear of red against her skin - proof that she was no longer a maiden and that the events of the past hour had indeed transpired. Cullen seemed to have noticed as well, because a moment later he was pressing a kiss to her forehead and whispering a heartfelt _"I'm sorry"_ in her ear.

The elf shook her head at him, and ran her fingers through the sweaty curls on his head. "Don't worry about it. It's said to happen," she reassured him, her voice rough from exertion. Apparently he wasn't convinced.

"Did you, ah... enjoy it, at least?" he asked her breathlessly, his brow dipped slightly in fear of her reply. Laughing probably wasn't the best response, but she couldn't help the giggle that bubbled out.

"'Enjoy' isn't the word I would use, necessarily," she clarified, her thumbs brushing the lines of his cheekbones. "It was... everything, that I wanted with you. Words can't even begin to describe..."

"I know," he quickly followed, kissing her nose, "I feel the same. To be honest, the reason I called you here tonight, it wasn't for this per say - although this isn't a casualty by any means," he said with a laugh.

Arian cocked a brow at him. "Then why _did_ you ask me to come here?"

Cullen bit at his lip, something he no doubt picked up from her, then smiled as he leaned forward and knocked his forehead gently against hers.

"I love you," he said to her, clear as day, no hesitation or reconsideration present whatsoever. Arian quietly gasped and immediately searched his eyes, perhaps seeking some evidence that he might be toying with her or something else impossibly stupid, but all she was met with was the open-ended affection that was his adoration for her within the gleaming gold of his irises.

She swallowed, opened her mouth, then swallowed again - her throat risking a croak if she attempted a reply. Then she felt a tear slide down her cheek and harshly wiped at it.

_Aw damn, great response, Arian._

But Cullen didn't mind, as usual. Instead he cupped her head and pressed a long, lingering kiss to her lips; expressing without further words just how much he, dare she say it, _loved_ her and how much he wanted her to know it. Sometime in the middle of the night, when they took one another for the second, third, fourth time; the words would too fall from her lips - not in elven like she had so cowardly done before, but in the tongue they both understood. And it was with this mutual admittance that a secure promise for their future blossomed deep inside her heart.

She would stay with him, no matter where the Creators or Maker or even Corypheus took her, because she _loved_ him - shem and all, and he loved her equally in return, even if her ears didn't curl into a shell as his did. Even if he had grown up in a civilized town and she the wandering wilderness. Even if he was Commander of her army and she his Inquisitor to their cause.

And that, for the both of them, was enough.


End file.
